There are two primary reasons behind the governments around the world being rather coy about establishing legally binding regulations for distributed ledger technology and the resulting debate as to the legitimacy of such regulations: a lack of knowledge concerning the function, application, and potential of the new industry; the perception that regulations negate the goals of the blockchain.

Many governing bodies have taken the ‘wait and see’ approach to distributed ledger technology, allowing more data to be revealed before they fully analyse what needs to be regulated and how they will go about applying regulation. However, this has left the affected businesses in a state of limbo, not knowing if they are acting illegally, or if their activities will soon be deemed illegal, in certain countries where the topic is debated but not regulated. The problem for many blockchain purists with the regulation of distributed ledger technology is that it contradicts the original purpose of the technology. The Bitcoin blockchain was designed and implemented to be self-governing and eradicate the need for government control and regulations, leaving hesitance within the community to submit themselves to laws and regulations enacted.

Creating the legal framework and regulations for distributed ledger technology presents many unique challenges, including establishing accountability; the application of contract law to smart contracts; the area of regulation; and the security of personal data in the case that blockchains can be decrypted in the future. Due to the rapid growth and application of the still budding technology, there has not been enough time to see all of the main issues emerge. On the 11th of May 2017, members of the European Parliament met to discuss the future of blockchain regulation and if governments should begin to intervene. Due to the lack of clarity as to the consequences of the new technology, possible issues that may arise, and a need for it to have the freedom to develop, governments quelled their desire to apply regulation.

On the 4th of July 2018, Malta became the pioneer of Distributed Ledger Technology Regulation, dismissing the ambiguity that blockchain companies had been coping with in the years prior.

Malta becomes the ‘Blockchain Island’.

Malta made history by enacting regulatory bills concerning distributed ledger technology, blockchain-based businesses, cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings, and blockchain-based service providers. The Maltese Parliament brought three laws into power in order to establish a governing body, create a system of registration and certification of distributed ledger technologies, and to regulate initial coin offerings.

The Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act established the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA) as the governing body to support the development and implementation of the guiding principles described in the Act and to promote consistent principles for the development of visions, skills, and other qualities relating to technology innovation, including distributed or decentralized technology, and to exercise regulatory functions regarding innovative technology, arrangements and related services and to make provision with respect to matters ancillary thereto. The primary aim of the MDIA is to promote the new technology and its innovations by developing and implementing key guiding principles. Regarding the regulation of such technologies, the Innovative Technology Arrangements and Services Act provides the MDIA with its regulatory functions, which includes providing technological arrangements for distributed ledger technology companies, as well as, the methods of certification and registration of such companies. The Virtual Financial Assets Act governs cryptocurrency wallets, cryptocurrency exchanges, and lays out clear criteria regarding the requirements for an initial coin offering.

The three acts established by Malta created the benchmark for governing bodies all over the world to follow, allowing for the expression of innovation while presenting clear regulations for the use of the developing technology. Many companies utilising distributed ledger technology were seeking legal clarification, which made Malta’s newly established regulations very desirable. Soon after the bills were enacted, a slew of high-profile companies announced their move to Malta. Binance is one such example, which opted to escape Asia’s purge on virtual currencies and move to the more open-minded regulations of the European island nation. Other cryptocurrency exchanges including OKEx and ZBX have followed suit.

Malta’s desire to adopt and grow the distributed ledger technology industry was demonstrated by their willingness to establish themselves as the ‘Blockchain Island’ in July 2018. However, the nation has surpassed this creation of the legal framework, with its other authorities integrating blockchain-friendly regulations into their respective industries. In March 2018, it was reported that the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) aimed to create a licensing system for game developers seeking to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment, establish a method of calculating exchange rates, and the use of digital currency wallets with games. To do this, the Authority was to engineer a sandbox testing environment to allow game developers to see if their games were in line with their new regulations of the use of cryptocurrencies.

Other distributed ledger technology authorities emerging.

Malta made headlines by becoming the first official regulator of distributed ledger technology to forge the ‘Blockchain Island’. In December 2017, Gibraltar, announced its intention to launch the world’s first licensing procedure and regulations structure for firms using the new technology. On the 1st of January 2018, the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission was established to be the nation’s authority on distributed ledger technology, applying to all businesses using the technology in or from Gibraltar. On the 17th of October 2018, leading Bitcoin exchange Coinfloor became fully compliant with the regulations of the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, meeting the standards required by their nine regulatory principles.

The European Parliament has recently begun to move towards establishing regulations for distributed ledger technologies by publishing a non-binding resolution. The resolution details an innovation-friendly approach to the new technology, and that instead of regulating the technology, the European Union should remove barriers currently restricting the implementation of distributed ledgers. A focus of any regulation to come from European Parliament will be towards standing European Union legislation, specifically the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), with the composition and process of current distributed ledger technology and blockchains seemingly making it difficult for someone to have their personal data and records removed. They stand by their previous comments concerning a lack of understanding as to the potential problems that can be associated with the technology, and so they will require more time to establish measures to counter the major issues that may arise. It is apparent that general understanding of the technology needs to be improved through the education of relevant parties and that doing so could help the European Union to become a world leader in the field of distributed ledger technology: a route that European Parliament intends to pursue. Resolutions set out by the European Parliament are often used as a tool to express intent to create regulations, but resolutions are not legally binding.

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